In a word – wow. That was my initial reaction to the concept of Songbird, an application some people are comparing to Apple’s iTunes. Personally, I can see Songbird ‘out singing’ iTunes in some areas and yet, coming up very short in others.
For one thing, they are taking on an incredible task, and for that I am certainly impressed. Unfortunately, I feel that I will not be using them as they simply do not provide me with any iPod or Dell DJ support. In Windows, we have Deubox Explorer and iTunes to fit the bill here. Sure, Deubox is not really a media player. Rather a utility to transport my media back and forth. However in the Linux (Linspire specifically), I can use amaroK and Lsongs. amaroK is the best media player out there – period. Syncs with the iPod and offers control over your music and podcasts in such a way that no other software has even approached.
Then we have Lsongs, a fair alternative. To me, its biggest highlight would have to be the ability to sync with my Dell DJ. And while it offers some iTunes like features, I still believe that amaroK is still light years beyond it overall.
So, where does this leave us. Is Songbird a threat to iTunes? No, I don’t believe so. Being most folks using iTunes are doing so out of choice of the content being offered there, I am not convinced that Songbird will be a real threat.
As I bring this to a close, I will say the following: Songbird is going to be a great app. Just because it does not appear to meet with my needs specifically, they will still have my full support and a very big thumbs up.
[tags]itunes,amarok,lsongs,songbird,deubox[/tags]